LOVE LETTERS

This letter is to let you know that you're in my thoughts often. I am a pretty positive person, (thank God), but sometimes I find myself overwhelmed by all my responsibilities. When I reach those moments where I need extra support from my little special sources, you always come to mind.

I think about your broken dream of becoming a Mother and about your physical pain and about your difficult marriage. You had a pretty tough life mi amiga, but still, you were able to channel your amazing energy through your art. This has been a mayor lesson to me.

Whenever I feel under the pressure of life I try to sit for a minute or two and create something with my hands. This has always been my way to turn all my concerns into something meaningful and positive. Thank you so much for the lesson.

I just want to let you know that you were an amazing woman. I hope that one day, if we ever get to meet in person up there, we can spend some time talking and sharing experiences. I also hope that you can cook one of your delicious Mexican dishes. Yay!! I will bring the desert, something made my myself.

You taught me how to write and read and only now I am writing this letter to you. I am so sorry that I didn't do it before! But you have been in my heart for all these years.

With this letter I want to thank you sooo much for teaching me some of the greatest lessons that I ever learned from a teacher.

Remember that day when each kid was supposed to talk about his/her mother's profession? Betty talked about her Mom who was a Doctor, Nelson talked about his Mom who was a Singer...each mother had a fancy profession and when my turn arrived I didn't know what to say. At that time my Mom was working as a janitor in a place where they cooked food for hotels, very close to the school.

You realized that I needed help and then you gave the most beautiful speech about my Mom. You talked about how she made the best empanadillas ever, about how happy and friendly she always was, about how hard she worked everyday...The rest of the kids felt that I was so important for having such a great Mom. What you did that day had a deep impact in my life later and I want to thank you so much for it!

There were so many things that I loved about you! Here I am going to list some of them:

* I loved your sense of style: the way you styled your hair, your sweet outfits and most of all your smile. Your teeth were far from perfect but that didn't stop you from smiling all the time.

* I loved how fast you sharpened your pencils with the knife, I was fascinated with it. I have always tried to imitate how you did it and only now I am getting close to you in speed :)

* I loved when you discretely called us apart from the group in order to correct us or point at something that we did wrong. You never ever did this in front of the other kids because you knew how sensitive we were.

* I loved how you listened to each one of us, you really wanted to hear what we wanted to say, that made us feel so comfortable expressing ourselves.

But I don't want to finish this letter without saying THANK YOU SO MUCH for that set of 12 color pencils that you gave me as a present when I was in the 4th grade. You really moved me to tears because I never thought that I was going to own such an important treasure. My Mom couldn't afford something like that. You knew that I loved to draw and you encouraged me to do it all the time. I remember how you used to call me Elsita la Artista :) You always said that I was going to be an artist in the future.

I am happy to tell you that you were so right! I became an artist and I owe it in great part to you. Remember when you signed me up for the after-school art classes? That really changed my life back then. You got me all started in my creative adventures, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

I just want to finish this letter saying that your life was very meaningful. You made of the world a better place and you made a huge difference in the lives of your students. Being a Teacher is a profession from the heart and you were a real teacher; so caring and modest and sensitive and giving.

As I write this letter you are 5 years old and I already know a lot about how your future is going to be. To say it in a few words: I am are sure that you will make all your dreams come true. Everything about your personality tells me that. We have known this since May 16 of 2003, the very day when you were born. But let me tell you more about yourself.

Being pregnant with you was the easiest thing in the whole world. I used to run upstairs to my studio and you liked that a lot, once I got up there you started kicking me, that was your way to say: I like this Mommy, do it again! We really had a great communication via your kicks :)

I remember May 16 of 2003 so well! We still had 5 long weeks ahead of us before your arrival. That day Bill and I were getting ready to go to bed, he was supposed to travel to London the day after and just as a little joke I told him: Billy, how about if the baby is born when you're in London? That's impossible- he said :) But then a couple of minutes later my water broke, well, you broke it and I just started laughing! Can you believe it?

I said: Billy, you're going to think that I am kidding but my water just broke!. What? Are you sure???? And the race started right away!I arrived at the hospital with a big smile on my face. One of the nurses said: this is the first time that someone in your condition arrives here in such a happy mood!

You didn't even want to wait for the Doctor. The nurses had to take care of the whole delivery because you started showing up too soon! It was the quickest delivery ever. From that day on we realized that you were not going to be the girl that waits for things to happen, you were going to make things happen by yourself. And that has never changed in this five years.

But let me tell you some of the most remarkable things about the way you are:

1.More than asking for things you have always had an instinct for providing yourself with what you need or want, that has made you a very independent girl.

2. You never ever take no as an answer. Once you know what you want you never ever give up and you keep exploring all the possible ways for you to get what you want.

3.You always apologize when you think that you have done something wrong. You do this without being asked for it and that's great.

4. You are an amazing and caring sister to Diego and Miro. Remember that day when Diego was in the playground and another boy came to bully him? You came running from nowhere and stood up in front of the boy and with the loudest voice ever you said: STOP IT! DON'T YOU SEE THAT HE IS MY LITTLE BROTHER! GO! The boy run away because you scared him so much!

5. You spend a big deal of your time drawing and writing letters for everyone in the family, for friends and teachers. You are so generous.

6. Your heart is full of love and passion, you have recently fallen in love for the first time. He loves you too and it has been an amazing thing for us and for his parents to watch. As adults we forget that love has no age. You are a real inspiration.

And since you should be reading this letter on May 16 of 2021 you are going to be celebrating your 18th birthday! Happy Birthday Natalie! Today you are becoming an adult and life is right in front of you full of new things and surprises. I just want to say from today, April 7 of 2009 that you should be so proud of yourself! You are a very special girl and we know that you are going to have a great life. We know that the hard side of life is not going to scare you at all, it is going to teach you important lessons and the happy side of it is going to be the prize for all you gifts, your talents and your qualities. Go ahead and follow your dreams, they are waiting for you!